Stockbyte/Thinkstock(LONDON) -- Women often moan loudly while being sexually intimate with their partners, but what drives them to make noises in the bedroom?

Researchers in the U.K. decided to examine the issue of what they call “copulatory vocalization” by conducting a survey of 71 sexually active heterosexual women between the ages of 18 and 48. The results, which were published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, show that many women make noise, but not necessarily while they are having an orgasm.

Sixty-six percent of the respondents stated that they moaned during sex to speed up their partner’s climax, while 87 percent did it to boost their partner’s self-esteem.

The researchers found that copulatory vocalizations most often occurred before and during their partner’s climax.

The women surveyed also reported making noise during sex to relieve fatigue, discomfort and boredom.﻿